Grade: Middle
Subject: Language

#948. Pets in Spanish

Language, level: Middle
Posted Tue Apr 6 17:54:34 PDT 1999 by Laura Randolph (laura_randolph@hotmail.com).
Spanish Student at Oklahoma State Univ. , Stillwater, OK, USA
Materials Required: Fiction picture book on pets, 4" by 6" index cards, animal stickers, big animal pictures

Anticipatory Set
Using comprehensible input, teacher presents vocabulary of animals;
Use sí/no questions to check comprehension of vocab.;
Ask students to identify the pictures of animals with one-word responses

Presentation of New Material

Read Fiction picture book on pets ( I use Clifford books, which are available in Spanish
through Scholastic) aloud, and reiterate the vocab. of animals and point out colors in
the text. Discuss the fact that Clifford is a pet (doméstico) and discuss some of the appearances
of Clifford. In this way, the adjectives can now be introduced. Show big color pictures of pets
and then reiterate the colors, textures, and sizes. (DK has some really good books with colorful
pictures of animals). By listening, the student should catch on to the structure of the placement
of adjectives.


Production Practice
Introduce me gusta/no me gusta by modeling:
A mí me gusta el gato. ¿A ti te gusta también?


Application/Interaction

Speaking: Students approach the teacher and tell the class which animals they like, pointing to
the pictures or vocab. written on the board.
Writing: Students are given their own pets (stickers of animals on 4" by 6" index cards). The
teacher asks the students to write the name of the animal, 3 adjectives that describe their pet,
and then to write if they like their pet below the adjectives.

Closure/Assessment
Go over the vocabulary that the class has learned. Then mention again that Clifford is a pet
of the girl in the story. Ask students if they have a pet and what kind it is.

ASSIGNMENT/PROJECTS:

On the back of the 4" by 6" index card that they have already written on, have students draw a picture of their
pet or an animal that the student likes and write 3 adjectives describing the animal.